Page 7

I try to look out of the window as we drive by, but it makes me feel nauseous, and I curse myself for not paying more attention to what I was drinking. I don’t like being this drunk. It makes me feel out of control, and control is something that’s very important to me.

Because if I don’t control myself, the darkness might creep in. Something dark and hopeless that lives deep down inside me.

I vaguely remember getting into the elevator and pressing the top floor button, and by the time I stumble into my room and plop down on the bed, I know I’m on the verge of passing out.

All I can see in my mind’s eye are Meredith’s bright blue eyes.

When I wake, the sunlight digs into my eyeballs, and someone is knocking on my door.

“No housekeeping,” I rasp, but the knocking doesn’t stop.

I groan loudly and make my way to the door, jerking it open.

Grayson stands there, looking a bit rumpled and just wearing sweats and a tank top.

He pushes past me into the room. “God, are you as hungover as I am?”

I open and close my dry mouth. “Is it noon already?”

Grayson shrugs. “Almost.”

“I’m never drinking with you again.” My voice is cracked and raw, and I go to the sink to drink water directly from the tap.

My old friend just chuckles. “You never were good at holding your liquor.”

“I’m still not.” I’m not exactly a teetotaler, but I only drink socially, and last night, I stumbled right over that line. Probably because we were talking about Meredith. Probably because I didn’t want the darkness to seep in. “What did you even want to meet about?”

“Work. I heard around town you’ve been hoping to expand in the city. I wanted to offer you some advice.”

I raise an eyebrow, my brain still not working properly. “Since when do you give business advice?”

He puffs his chest. “Since I built my business from the ground up.”

Of course, I’d heard of his business, but I’m not completely sure he did it all on his own. After all, he’s a trust fund baby.

Some of us didn’t have that opportunity.

I clear my throat, not wanting to be a dick. I’m sure Grayson works hard, it’s just that I started with absolutely nothing. He at least has his father’s business network.

“What’s your advice?”

“Expand.” He goes to the kitchenette to steal a sparkling water from my minibar. “Buy up all the local places you can. You can make them part of your franchise as you grow.”

“That’s actually not a bad idea.” I’ve already got a ton of zeroes in the bank given my mechanic franchise company’s growth over the last few years, so I have the capital to do as he suggests.

Grayson snorts. “What, the guy you met in high school who never worked a day in his life isn't convincing now as a business owner?”

I snicker. “I guess people change, right?”

“I threw myself into work after losing Lillian.”

Heat floods my face.

That’s pretty much what I did after what happened with Meredith, but it’s not like I can say that. Grayson has never known anything about me and Meredith.

And now, he’ll never know because there’s nothing to tell. Not anymore.

“I’ll take a look at some of the local places.”